HOF Weekend

[oubobcat]

Once again I am up in Canastota for the annual HOF weekend. I am only able to be around until Saturday but as usual my time here has already resulted in many memories.

The highlight of the weekend so far, and not a surprise, is Vinny Paz. He is absolutely enjoying every moment of the weekend and has been very accessible to the fans. Each year there is always a stand out and without a doubt this year it’s Paz.

One thing about Canastota and Turning Stone is that you are bound to run into someone along the way given how condensed area. This year I had an Ohio State shirt on which fortunate for me as I literally bumped into Kelly Pavlik in a hallway at Turning Stone. He saw my shirt, asked where I was from and we hit it off. Great guy.

I would encourage anyone at some point if you are a fan of this sport to head to Canastota for HOF weekend. I promise you will make memories that last a lifetime.

 

[KO Digest]

I heard from an old friend who was up there for induction weekend. I miss that place and those times but things have changed so much that I don’t know if I’m really missing anything anymore. My biggest memory of Vinny has to be the night he fought Honneyghan in Atlantic City. This was the night we crashed the backstage area and hung out with the fighters and those with access to them. The night Donald Trump strolled right past us. The night Michael Moorer almost beat us up lol! When Vinny started his ring walk, we jumped into it and almost made it into the ring with Team Paz before we got scared and broke it off. So many great memories of that night and of the IBHOF. The attached photo is of my boxing buddy Joe with Cooney in Canastota.

 

[oubobcat]

Cooney was around HOF weekend this year and as usual was very approachable.

Vinny Paz was the big hit of the weekend. Jim Lampley gave a great talk on Saturday and not surprisingly started to tear up when talking about George Foreman. And Lampley told some great Foreman stories. Al Bernstein's talk was also very interesting, you can tell just how passionate he is about the sport in that if a random fight is brought up that he called he can recall that event right off the top of his head.